Ukrainian couple Oleksandra Nazarova / Maksym Nikitin was seen on the World Cup only once, but it was full of emotion and message.
28.3. 14:01 • Updated March 28th. 14:28
The most emotional performance at the World Figure Skating Championships, which ended on Sunday, was seen last Friday when a Ukrainian ice dance couple Oleksandra Nazarova / Maksym Nikitin performed their rhythm dances in Montpellier, France. With their dance and music, the couple took a strong stance in the Russian offensive war against Ukraine. The performance was very emotional and appealed strongly to the audience.
Nazarova and Nikitin, who fled the war from their hometown of Kharkov, only had less than a week to prepare their performance.
Click on the picture of the story and watch the Ukrainian couple’s full dance performance.
The couple managed to escape from Kharkov, Poland, in the midst of fierce fighting.
The 600-kilometer escape from Nazarov lasted eight days. He and Nikitin fled their hometown at different times.
– The trip took so long because so many have had to leave their homes. I left earlier than Max. I couldn’t take my skates with me, but Maksym brought them to me, Nazarova, who shared a lot of thanks to her Polish helpers, explained.
A new show in less than a week
In a rhythm dance, they were dressed in shirts colored by the Ukrainian flag, one wearing a yellow shirt and the other wearing a blue shirt. They got huge applause from the audience as they skated on the ice at the World Cup.
– It was a strong performance compared to the fact that the couple had only practiced this performance for less than a week. Yes, their skills were visible, a world-class couple. It was a wild, wild performance. It had all the required elements and had great choreographic elements, ‘s World Figure Skating Reporter Sara Honkavaara commented on a TV broadcast.
Nazarova and Nikitin, who skated to the top ten at the European Championships in January, took part in the World Cup only in rhythm dance. In less than a week, they had renewed their rhythm dancing, and they did not want to present their old free program at the World Championships.
Music selection strong statement
On Friday, the pair performed the first part of their rhythm dance to the beat of 1944, with which Ukraine won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. The song tells of the persecution of the Tatars during Stalin. The song is performed by Jamala, real name Susana Alimivna Dzamaladinova. The first words of the song take a strong stand on the situation of the oppressed people, and the words are still relevant at the moment.
– When guests come, they’ll come to your house. They kill everyone and say, “We are not guilty,” the first words of the 1944 passage are translated.
The second part of the performance was danced to the beat of an old Ukrainian national anthem.
According to Nazarova, the couple received huge support during the World Cup.
– It is really important for us to tell the world what is happening in Ukraine at the moment. For us, this wasn’t just a race – it was about much bigger things. The show was not just for us, it was for all Ukrainians. In Ukraine, we saw what the Russian army is doing to our country. It’s vomiting. Our families are still in Ukraine, where we were only six days ago.
The couple does not yet know what they plan to do next.
– We will return to Poland, but we still have no idea what we will do next, Nazarova said.